26 cyclists from 18 countries were due to participate in the contest, but two riders did not start. After the qualifying heats, the fastest 24 riders were to advance to the 1/16 finals, therefore all riders who contested the qualification advanced to the next round.[1]
The first rider in each of the 12 heats advanced to the second round.[2] There was no repechage for this round.
The first rider from each of the six Second Round heats advanced to the Quarterfinals and the second placed riders from a repechage[3] to determine the other two riders that competed the quarterfinals.[4]
The first rider in each quarterfinal advanced to the semifinals and the 4 losing athletes faced a race for 5th-8th place.[5]
The qualifying, first round, second round, second round repechages and quarterfinals took place on 27 March. The Semifinals and Finals took place on 28 March.[6]